How else would he do it? The former college quarterback now
plays wide receiver, cornerback and returns kicks, so when he's asked to list
his position he simply writes "player."

"You're not going to say no to an opportunity, especially
around here," Edelman said when asked how he deals with all of the bouncing
around. "It's a foreign thing to you, and it's a little different. Anything you
can do to contribute to the team, that's what you're here for."

Edelman learned long ago that he was going to have to be a
chameleon if he wanted to have a job in football.

As a 6-foot quarterback with questionable accuracy, no one
was knocking down his door following his senior season at Kent State. He
quickly realized that his dream of playing in the NFL was going to evaporate if
he didn't find a way to adapt.

"British Columbia wanted me to play quarterback up there in
Canada," he said. "I didn't grow up wanting to play in the CFL. I grew up
wanting to play in the NFL."

So, Edelman began the process of remaking himself into a
wide receiver and kick returner and ended up being drafted by New England in
the seventh round of the 2009 draft.

It was hard at first, but Patriots special teams coach Scott
O'Brien and wide receivers coach Chad O'Shea put in extra hours with Edelman
after practices until he began to grasp his new positions.

By the end of his rookie season he accumulated 359 yards on
37 receptions.

The ease in which he made that transition gave coach Bill
Belichick the confidence to try him out at cornerback Nov. 13 against the New
York Jets when injuries ravished the secondary.

"His skillset as a slot receiver carried over to the same
skillset we look for in a slot corner, so we started using him some there in
1-on-1s after practice," Belichick said. "He had a knack for it and picked it
up quickly. He's a smart, hardworking guy."

Edelman has struggled as a defensive back at various points this
season but the coaching staff feels that his performance continues to improve
as he gains experience.

The New York Giants, who will play the Patriots in Sunday's
Super Bowl in Indianapolis, don't see things the same way. They've been
critical of him throughout the week, Mario Manningham classifying him as not
being a "real defensive back."

"I think that's just a bunch of noise," Edelman said.
"Around here we ignore the noise. If I'm thinking about that then I'm thinking
about the wrong things."

If he's being completely truthful, though, Edelman may
actually agree with Manningham's comments. In his mind, he's not a defensive
back, a wide receiver or a special teams player.

When he pictures himself on a football, he still sees
himself as a quarterback.

"Sometimes you miss those days because you had the ball in
your hands and you can dictate things," he said. "I love being on the field
playing anything. I get to live the dream and play the sport that I love for a
living right now, so I don't really mind."

Sometimes, when he's not careful, he even begins to wonder
if he could complete passes at this level like his childhood idol, Doug Flutie,
did for so long as an undersized quarterback.

But whenever those thoughts creep into his head, he's quick
to stuff them down and refocus on learning the three playbooks he has to digest
each week.

And he's OK with that.

"That's all foolish pride. You got to be able to stick with
things and move on," he said. "I didn't have an opportunity there. The
opportunity I had was at a different position and I wanted to keep playing
football.